By Zubeida Mustafa
Source: Dawn
AS Pakistan plods on with its war in Malakand against the Taliban and struggles to cope with the hundreds of thousands who are being displaced, controversy over its nuclear arsenal would be the last thing it would ask for.
Continue reading How many bombs will deter
By Zubeida Mustafa
Source: Dawn
ZULFIQAR Ali, a prisoner on death row in Adiala jail since April 1998, is to be hanged. There is confusion about the date.
Since September 2008 when President Asif Zardari rejected Zulfiqar`s final mercy petition, the condemned prisoner has been granted three stays of execution. The last expired on May 6.
Continue reading Why Zulfiqar Ali should not die
By Zubeida Mustafa
Source: Dawn
“WOMEN to reclaim public spaces a programme of defiance and resistance”. That is how the Women`s Action Forum defined the meeting it held last Friday to mobilise public opinion against extremism.
Although WAF`s concern to protect the space women have created in the public mainstream has been on its agenda for some time, this goal has acquired urgency in the wake of the events in Swat. The Nizam-i-Adl Regulation in Malakand Division has brought people face to face with the ugly reality of the Talibanisation phenomenon in the rural backwaters as well as in modern urban centres.
Continue reading Arundhati Roy with WAF
By Zubeida Mustafa
Source: Dawn
NOTWITHSTANDING the rumpus created by President Barack Obama`s remarks about the Zardari government being “extremely fragile” the latter observation should provide some food for thought to Pakistanis.
In a damage-control attempt the US special envoy Richard Holbrooke tried to explain off the reports on the president`s statement as being “journalistic garbage, journalistic gobbledygook”.
Continue reading Is Obama’s concern justified?
By Zubeida Mustafa
Source: Dawn
AN Afghan proverb holds that zar, zan and zameen (gold, woman and land) are linked to a man`s honour. It is no different in Pakistan`s tribal and feudal tradition.
While women are fighting back and wealth is no longer the exclusive preserve of a handful, land continues to be the most coveted element in the lexicon of male honour. Land hunger lies at the root of many evils. Civilised societies have another perspective. They regard housing, “the crucible for human well-being”, as the fundamental right of man to enable him to live in peace and dignity. For that he needs land.
Continue reading Khaskhelis: victims of feudalism